


Zoe the Matchmaker

by Greenhand, SEGASister



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-01 01:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18325955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenhand/pseuds/Greenhand, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEGASister/pseuds/SEGASister
Summary: Zoe is very meticulous when it comes to her fanfictions and OTPs. She's even written up ships for her fellow classmates at Spooky High.What if she could make them... real?





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s finished!” Zoe cheered to herself. “My shipping chart is complete!” 

She stepped back and gazed at her work: several pictures of her classmates arranged on a wall, connected by different colored threads and thumbtacks. This was her magnum opus, her foundation for fanfics to come!

You see, after becoming a normal girl—well, as normal as one can get at Spooky High School—she made way to devote her time to the arts. And, if by arts, one meant a collection of fanfiction based on her own high school classmates, with ample room for alternate universes; then yes. This was, “art.”

Now… which fanfic to work on next? Spooky High Noon western!AU? Or perhaps Spooky Haiku samurai!AU? Human High!AU? Unfortunately, that would have to wait, as classes were just about to start. Zoe groaned to herself as she left her humble abode: her former totem converted into a small house resting in her locker.

With a  _ schlorp _ ing noise, Zoe’s tentacles poured out from the totem’s maw like a river of sinew. It was gross, yeah, but that’s just how she got around. The pile of flesh stitched itself back into the adorable little shape of Zoe, who trotted off to Horrible Histories class. She enjoyed it because she got to write fanfics of historical figures. She meant to get around to shipping Teddy Bear Roosevelt with Gorgonghis Khan anyway! The fact that they lived in two different time periods and across two continents and an ocean didn’t deter her!

Mathemagics was another class she had. It was one of her easiest classes because she envisioned every math equation as a shipping problem. If Dahlia equals X and Interdimensional Prince was Y, and 2x-3y=Z, then Z MUST be their shipping child for Zoe’s Spooky High!Next Gen fanfic! She did have to stop herself from writing “Dahlince” instead of 45.6 as her answer, however.

None of those can top her favorite class: Creative and Destructive Writing! This was where she really got to put her fanfic skills to the test! Sure, she had to swap out names to make them, “appropriate for school,” and to make Mr. Snakespeare believe that she was writing original stories. Her notebooks were already jam-packed with ideas, first drafts, and drawings of Scott’s abs, she has  _ plenty _ of material to work with.

And it was all thanks to the four most charismatic classmates she knew, or as she referred to them, the MCs. (Major Cuties~!)

Oz, last name non-applicable, practically ageless: The classic shy, nervous boy with a heart of gold. Side note: Definitely a sub.

Amira Rashid, aged twenty: A real hot tamale who’s the queen of sass. Perfect for snappy comebacks and looking  _ fine _ .

Brian Yu, aged twenty-one or twenty-two: The strong and silent type. Who knows what juicy bits of character development are just waiting to be unraveled with him?

And Vicky Schmidt, aged twenty-two or twenty-three: The most electrifying personality Zoe knew. She had the best grades, best heart, and the best opportunity for a tragic backstory, given her ancestry.

Come her study period in the library, Zoe decided now was a good time to do a little work on one of her stories… just for a moment. She opened up her shipping chart once more, a miniature version of the one on her wall, along with her crimenoir!AU… Who should she ship in this next chapter? The possibilities were endless!

But wait… oh no! She had stumbled upon an author’s biggest roadblock next to writer’s block, and an actual roadblock: her notebook was full. She had no more room to write anything!

“No, no! Not now!” Zoe frantically whispered to herself. “There’s gotta be some blank pages somewhere!” But alas, there weren’t any. She could just write on the school’s computers, but the school librarians banned her from using them after looking at her Boo-gle search history. Nothing illegal, but everything inappropriate for a school setting. So she had to settle for the good ol’ pen and paper… good until her paper had run out, that is.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…!” Zoe thought to herself, inadvertently causing every student to hear her whispers in their heads. They might have been going insane from the voices echoing, but Zoe was practically going insane herself! She had to find some more paper, and quick! No spare notebooks on any shelves or tables… no printers to raid paper from… but then, she saw it.

It was like an oasis in the desert: a fresh notebook, right there on the desk! It looked so pretty, with pink and green swirl designs on the cover, bound with blue thread. The pages themselves seemed lined with a violet sheen. So beautiful…! But before she can take it for herself, she’d have to swipe it from...

“Dmitri!” Joy shouted. “Hand over the Notebook of the Fates!”

“And why should I?” The shirtless vampire asked. “With this powerful artifact, I can make everyone as shirtless and brooding as I am… the Dark Side will finally triumph!”

Zoe watched from afar as this played out. It was the Coven! And dreamy Dmitri! No time for fangirling, though. She needed paper!

“W-WAIT!” She shouted, running over to them. “I need that notebook! Please!”

“I’m sorry, who are you again?” Dmitri asked, dropping his theatrics for a moment. “I’m kind of in the middle of something, here,”

“Yeah… let us finish and we’ll get back to you, okay?” Joy added, but Zoe wouldn’t budge.

“Please? I need something to write down in on such short notice! Please?!” Zoe begged, getting down on her knees. “I know it’s not life or death, but it’s  _ figuratively _ life or death to me!”

“Life or death, you say?” Dmitri asked, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll keep it. Death is cooler, anyway,”

“Not if  _ we _ have anything to say about it!” Faith interjected. “We vote for life! All three of us!”

“Curse your democro-mancy! I’ll be back!” Dmitri groaned, disappearing in a puff of moody smoke. The notebook fell to the ground harmlessly, only for Hope to pick it up.

“Now to take this book and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands!” Joy declared.

“I suggest we seal it in a chest and bury it in the Marianas Trench,” Faith offered.

“Why not bury it in the planet’s core?” Hope suggested, before Zoe hopped back to her feet.

“I’ll take care of it!”

“We can’t just  _ let _ you have it…” Joy sighed. “The Notebook of the Fates is too powerful for anyone to control. It was forged in the fires of—”

“Muspelheim, I know! Amun-Ra provided the papyrus and Zeus bound it with the skin of the last living titan!”

“How… how do you know all this?” Hope asked.

“I read all the lore, duh. And… I mean I’ll destroy it,” Zoe interjected.

“How?”

Shit… now Zoe had to come up with a convincing lie, right on the spot.

“I-I’ll swallow it!” Zoe fibbed. What a bold thing to say.

“Really now?” Faith asked, skeptically.

“M-my stomach is an eternal void of darkness and wind. I-I promise, nobody will see it ever again!” Zoe answered. She was lying through her teeth, but she needed that book. The members of the Coven all shared uncertain glances.

“Alright, fine,” Hope said, handing Zoe the notebook. “Dispose of it.”

Without a second thought, Zoe’s mouth grew impossibly wide, and devoured the book with an array of gnashing teeth and grasping tongues. The Coven averted their eyes, not wanting to watch such a spectacle… but when all was said and done, Zoe seemed to uphold her promise.

“See? Gone,” Zoe remarked.

“We seem to have underestimated you,” Joy smiled. “We are grateful.”

“Uh-huh, yeah. Gotta go!” Zoe added, hurrying back to her desk, grabbing her stuff, and finding somewhere else to hunker down for a while.

She hid in the bathrooms, sitting locked in one of the stalls. Using her tentacle, she reached down her own throat and pulled the notebook back out. Luckily, it was still intact, and completely devoid of any stains or tears, almost as if it had just come out of pristine packaging, even.

“Still in mint condition…!” Zoe sighed. “Good… now, back to the juicy stuff!” Zoe grinned as she took out her pen. That scene with Dmitri and the Coven inspired her!

**“Dmitri!” Joy shouted. “Hand over the Notebook of the Fates!”**  Zoe wrote down.

**“And why should I?” The shirtless vampire asked. “With this powerful artifact, I can make everyone as shirtless and brooding as I am… the Dark Side will finally triumph!”’**  she added. 

She couldn’t just copy the scene word-for-word, especially not after she interrupted them. Hmm… how would things have played out had she not intervened? Zoe erased her last sentence, and wrote something new in its place.

**“You’re too late!” Dmitri cackled. His fingers flipped open the pages, and suddenly, the magical energy within began to flow forth! “Shirtlessness! Brooding! Daaaarkneeessssssss!”**

**A wave of dark smoke spewed forth, impacting the Coven as Joy, Faith, and Hope all felt the dark magic taking place!**

**“No!” Joy shouted. “We can’t give in…! We must not give in! We WILL NOT give in!” She then walked up to Dmitri, doing her best to resist his effects and kissed him square on the lips.**

**“Joy, no!” Hope cried. “You’re too close! The dark magic will corrupt you!”**

**“No, look!” Faith added. “She’s resisting the darkness, with the power of love!”**

**As if by magic, everything was back to normal. Dmitri was still shirtless, but the evil brooding that was starting to spread across the school was now gone.**

**“What is this feeling…?” Dmitri asked. “I feel… all warm and tingly inside…”**

**“That’s just what love does,” Joy answered, as Dmitri took her in his arms again, dipping her and giving her another kiss. And with that, Faith and Hope watched as she carried him off…!**

Zoe just looked over at her work, overcome with pride. She was on a roll today! Giggling to herself, she tucked the notebook back into her bag. Wait… were those… footsteps rushing towards the stall next to her?

From where she sat, Zoe could hear two people enter the other stall. They were clearly in a hurry, because she could hear the sounds of an intense make-out session commencing right then and there!

Zoe remained quiet, and tucked her feet up on the toilet seat, as not to be noticed. Her cheeks lit up like flares. Sh-should she leave?

“Joy…!” someone whispered from the other stall. Wait a second. Joy? Was that  _ Dmitri _ ?! “Let me claim you as my own…!” Oh gods!

“Yes, my love…!” Joy whispered in response. “I’ll show you  _ my _ dark side!”

Zoe couldn’t believe this was happening.  _ “Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit!” _ She silently squeaked. She took the notebook back out. What did Joy call it? The Notebook of the Fates? She flipped to the page she had written on not moments ago… wait… there was more writing than she remembered… 

**“Joy…!” Dmitri whispered from inside the stall. “Let me claim you as my own…!”**

**“Yes, my love…!” Joy whispered in response. “I’ll show you** **_my_ ** **dark side!”**

Zoe froze. It was in her handwriting, but  _ she _ didn’t write any of this! What was going on!? Even as the couple kissed and moaned in the other stall, more words wrote themselves on the pages in real time… in  _ graphic _ detail.

Then it hit her: this was a book the Coven was trying to protect… this book was magic…! It must be! This means…! She could finally make her ships canon! YES!


	2. Chapter 2

Zoe tried to ignore the ever-growing chapter between Dmitri and Joy. Ever since she learned how the book works, the chapters have been literally  _ writing themselves _ , and only by tearing the pages from the rings was she able to stop Jmitiri’s romance from consuming every page. But even with that, new pages kept forming. Okay, she found something else to love about this book: running out of pages will be a non-concern, as they’ll keep replacing themselves anyway! YES!

So many possibilities… she decided to abstain from using her AUs. Rewriting the whole world into a different setting would be a massive time sink. Better just stick with the original universe for shipping. But who to write about?

Lunchtime came around when she found her answer: the MCs were all sitting together, talking about Prom…!

“Oz, how many times do you need to keep learning the same lesson?” Brian asked.

“Miranda uses you. It’s what she does,” Amira added.

“Guys, come on… it’s not that bad…” Oz remarked. “What about you and Scott, Amira?”

“Hey! He’s a dummy but… he’s my dummy, okay? Not the brightest bulb, but he’s still a sweetheart!” Amira defended.

“I’ll give you that,” Vicky responded, doodling in her own notebook: Prom dress and tuxedo designs.

“For you and Liam…?” Brian teased.

“Shush…!” Vicky snapped. “Well, what about you?”

“What  _ about _ me?” Brian said, crossing his arms. “I’m a bachelor for life.”

What’s this? Oz and Miranda? Vicky and Liam? Amira and  _ Scott _ ?! And Brian was alone?! This simply won’t do. This didn’t follow Zoe’s headcanons at all… time to rectify that.

Zoe consulted her chart. She  _ could _ make new relationships right away, but that would be too easy. Zoe might have been a shameless shipping fangirl, but as a writer, she had  _ standards _ . No, she had to slowly ease everybody into their new pairings… Starting by tearing two of them apart easily.

She took out her notebook and began to write a steamy affair one-shot between Miranda and Liam. Her readers  _ loved _ a good double-cheat-fic! Add in a little scene where either Vicky or Oz discover them and this powderkeg was ready to blow! She  _ did _ feel a little sorry for when it happens in real life… but she’ll make it up to them. Zoe considered herself to be a  _ benevolent _ author, after all.

Ten minutes later and her scene was near completion, now for a way to get their partners to discover the affair…! Well, she  _ did _ place the scene in the Principal’s office, so let’s have one of them  _ accidentally _ press the PA button…

It was then that Zoe was reminded just what she was doing. The loudspeakers overhead crackled, allowing the sounds of two students moaning to echo throughout the cafeteria. Everyone sat in shocked silence, as the number of blushing cheeks steadily rose…

Zoe dropped her pen. The scene was playing out on it’s own, as Zoe witnessed the words appear on the pages in real time.

“Oh,  _ Liam~! _ ”

And with that, Vicky shot up and ran towards the Principal’s Office. Oz just froze, absolutely mortified… he recognized that voice. Zoe just looked in her book to read what was happening.

**Vicky bolted into the office and opened the door. There was Liam, currently sitting on Principal Giant Spider’s desk… with Miranda in his lap.**

**“Liam…! How… how could you?!” Vicky asked, tears in her eyes.**

**“W-Wait!” Liam protested. “Vicky, please, it’s not what it looks like!”**

**“I’d argue otherwise, sweetie~!” Miranda giggled as she played with his hair, kissing him again, smirk on her face as she did so.**

**Vicky didn’t even want to look at him anymore. Disgust and pain racked her being, as she stormed down the hall, hiding her tears with her sleeve.**

Hmm… how to write Vicky’s  _ correct _ partner into the scene, Zoe wondered. Should she turn this into a slow burn where she learns to love again? Or have her preferred love interest for Vicky offer up comfort right away? Either way, she knew who Vicky  _ should _ be with. She decided to trail Vicky, pen at the ready to craft the rest of her tale.

Meanwhile, Damien was just wrapping up beating up a gnome for his lunch money, not that he needed it. Suddenly, he heard the scene that happened over the PAs. Miranda and Liam fucking in the Principal’s Office? That sly dog…!

However, Damien’s smirk turned into a frown as he heard the sobbing of a girl with a broken heart as she rushed past him. Vicky was…  _ sad _ ? It didn’t look right. Suddenly he felt… sorry for her? The empathy began burning in his chest… and not the good kind of burning. This burning just felt… wrong. He followed her until he found her in the auditorium, crying on the floor backstage by the costumes. Slowly, he walked over to her and knelt down.

“H-Hey… uhh… you alright?” he asked. Damien was never good at this whole, “comfort,” thing. Should he put his hand on her or not?

**Damien sat down next to her on the floor, placing his hand on her shoulder.**

Zoe caught the next line as it appeared in her notebook. Things were in motion! She hid just outside the room, ear against the door to listen in. Her pen finger was twitching, ready to give them a push in the right direction.

“I… I thought he loved me…” Vicky whimpered, wiping her tears away. “To think that he and Miri…!” She couldn’t finish before sobbing again, this time into Damien’s chest. The demon hesitated, unsure of how to continue… Time for Zoe to intervene!

**“That’s rough…” he said, pulling her into a soft, gentle hug. “I can’t possibly imagine what it feels like…” he added, rubbing her back. Vicky just continued to cry, her tears staining Damien’s shirt. He couldn’t stand seeing her like this. Sure, the pair would butt heads when it came to her wanting to follow the rules and him wanting to break them, but it just tore him up to see her so devastated.**

**“Look, if you want, I could always give that prick a thrashing!” Damien suggested. “Who does that backstabbing bastard think he is?! Just because he’s been around for four hundred years, he thinks he can toy with hearts like that?!”**

**“Damien, no! Please… please don’t hurt him!” Vicky begged.**

**“But** **_he_ ** **hurt** **_you_ ** **! Aren’t you angry?”**

**“Yes, but I don’t wanna see him get hurt too!” Vicky argued, standing up. “But… if he’s happier with Miranda… that skank mermaid princess who thinks she can get whatever she wants whenever she wants it NO MATTER WHO SHE HURTS IN THE PROCESS…! Then… so be it.”**

Damien had seen her get heated before, but this is the first time he’s seen her become this  _ nasty _ ! And with that, Zoe just listened as the scene played out verbatim, just as she had written. Let’s see how they handle this on their own…

“Hey, hey… it’s alright. Let it out,” Damien said, hugging her from behind. His voice just didn’t have that grating aggression it one had. He sounded… soft.  _ Caring _ , even.

“I… never really get the chance to,” Vicky confessed. “Everyone’s expecting me to be Little Miss Perfect: my mom, my teachers… was I not perfect enough for Liam? Was that why he decided to go for another girl?” she asked with a sob.

Words escaped Damien as he found himself unable to console her… what could he even say to her? It was then that Damien got an idea. “Wait right here,” Damien headed off to his locker for a moment, and soon came back with a small, orange leather bag.

“What are you—?”

“Just sit still,” he said. “Close your eyes.”

“Okay…” Vicky said, sitting down next to one of the backstage vanities. She felt a washcloth pat her cheeks, drying up the tears that streaked down her face. “Damien, what are you doing?”

“A little passion of mine,” he answered. “I’ve never really told anyone about this, but I have a thing for makeup.”

“What?”

“I know, I know... big bad Damien’s a cosmetologist. Eyes open, look up,” Damien took out an eyeliner pencil and began to work on Vicky’s eyes some more.

“Why haven’t you told anyone?”

“Reputation as the local bad boy aside, I wanted to be the best when I told everyone,” Damien began. “But I’m not sure as to what my dads would think. Eyes closed,” he instructed as he added eye shadow. “They want me to be the King of Hell one day, or Queen, they couldn’t care less on that front. But what if I just wanna do this for my life?”

“I’d say there’s nothing wrong with that…” Vicky answered. She hadn’t fully gotten over Liam’s affair, but she was distracted for the moment, and that’s all Damien needed. “What got you inspired?”

“Just imagine a six-year-old boy obsessed with race cars and thinking a show called  _ Boo Paul’s Drag Race _ would be about actual drag races,” Vicky giggled at his response. “Yeah, I know, but it taught me a lot about myself,” Damien said, rolling his eyes as he took out some blush that would compliment Vicky’s skin.

“Being strong is beautiful…” Damien muttered as he went about choosing a lip stain that would do the same. He decided on a nice shade that wasn’t too pink or too red, the perfect in-between shade for this straight-A student. “That’s a fact of life if I’ve ever heard one.”

“You really think so?” Vicky asked.

“Well, duh,” Damien answered. “Alright. Open your eyes.”

When Vicky did, she was met with a girl who looked like her, but more… confident. Her eyes no longer looked red and puffy, the eyeliner and eye shadow made her blue eyes pop even more. No… that was Vicky. Damien was just showing Vicky nothing but herself.

“Is that me…?” Vicky asked.

“That right there is the strongest woman I know. Now she gets to see it too.”

She tried to keep herself from crying again, and washing away Damien’s hard work. “Thank you…” she whispered, hugging him tightly.

“It was nothing,” he answered. “Come on, let’s get some ice cream on me,” he offered, helping Vicky up and assisting her back to the cafeteria. They missed Zoe on the way out, who was beaming with pride now that she had another ship made canon!

But wait… what of Oz? She had given Vicky’s now ex-boyfriend to his now ex-girlfriend. She turned back to her book to check up on him… He was outside by the dumpster? What was he doing there?!


	3. Chapter 3

“Come on, Oz! Don’t feel too bad!” Brian said, trying to comfort his best bro. “Just… get out of the dumpster, man!”

“Sh-she used me…!” Oz sobbed, his head in his hands, using one of the trash bags as a pillow. “You were right! She was just lying to me all this time! After all I’ve done for her?”

“Forget her, then!” Amira shouted. “You deserve way better!”

“No… no, I don’t…” Oz argued. “I was stupid to believe that she liked me back…”

“Wallowing in pity and garbage isn’t gonna help!” Brian shouted.

“I-I did everything I was supposed to! I took her out for dinner, I got her gifts, I was there when she felt sad… I was her accomplice in murdering the entire water polo team! And what do I have to show for it!?”

“Look, Oz, man—” Brian began.

“Brainless, wait,” Amira cut in. “He’s just going through those stages of grief. Let’s just have him play it out, and he’ll be fine. Watch, he’s already in denial.”

“Th-this is just a prank, right? I-it’s gotta be a test!” Oz nervously laughed to himself. “Sh-she probably still loves me!”

“Then comes anger…”

“That bitch! How could she!? Who does she think she is to just play with my heart like that!?”

“Bargaining…”

“There’s gotta be a way to fix this… it’s not completely over! I just need to earn some money and get a little more charm! She’ll take me back then… right? I-I’ll do whatever it takes!”

“Defeat…”

“Oh, who am I kidding? It’s hopeless. I’ll never love again…”

“And finally, acceptance.”

“… I refuse to accept this! I did everything she wanted and I still wasn’t good enough! What, she thinks she’s better than me!?”

“Oh shit, he’s gone back to anger!” Brian gasped, taking a step back as Oz’s phobias began to take over, gnarling and clawing at everything.

Zoe, watching from the window above the dumpster, decided to move this scene along, and also stop Oz’s phobias from devouring everything. Time for another OTP to come to life!

**Oz’s fury quickly subsided, only to be filled back up with heartbreak.**

**“I… I’m sorry,” he told his friends. “I just… I need to be alone for a minute.”**

**Brian and Amira exchanged a look, and softly nodded. “Just… call us, okay?” Amira asked as they left, and Oz sank back into the garbage, shutting the lid above him, encapsulating him in complete, stinky darkness.**

**“I belong here…” he sighed. “With all the other worthless junk… thrown away… discarded.”**

**“Have you not heard the saying, ‘One monster’s trash is another monster’s treasure?’”**

Hello, Polly! She just so happened to be in the garbage as well, looking for used up syringes. Oz jumped at the sound of her voice, banging his head against the dumpster lid.

“P-Polly!” he yelped. “Ah, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were here! I-I wasn’t calling you garbage!”

“No… you were calling yourself garbage. That’s not right,” Polly argued as she phased herself and Oz out.

Oz hesitated as he brushed whatever mess he could off his cardigan. “Well… I mean… y-you heard what happened, right?” he asked, his heart sinking again. “O-over… the P.A. earlier…?”

“No. I was out here looking for leftover drugs. What happened?” Polly responded.

Oz’s throat knotted up. To even say this out loud… it hurt him. His fists clenched just thinking about it her betrayal. Luckily, Zoe knew how he should convey his emotions.

**“Miranda… was having an affair with Liam… They were in the Principal’s Office and Vicky caught them,” Oz explained, anger still rising in his voice.**

Polly’s hands covered her mouth in shock. “Oh… Oh my god,” she gasped. “I… I’m so sorry.”

It didn’t lift any of the grief from Oz’s shoulders. He had never gotten so angry over anything… he didn’t want anyone to see him so… hostile. Polly seemed just as uncomfortable. Usually, the mention of sex, forbidden or otherwise, was something she could get into… but this time wasn’t the same. Someone was hurt because of this…

“Hey, listen, boo… I really don’t know what to say,” she began. “I’m not an advice-giving girl. But, if you ever need a pick-me-up, I can help with that.”

Ah-hah! Drugs! Zoe could work with that!

**Polly began to walk away when Oz grabbed her by the arm. “Hold up! Why… why not right now?” he asked, feeling particularly bold today.**

**“Right now?” Polly repeated. “Are you sure, boo?”**

**Oz hesitated, and let go of her. “Y-yeah…”**

**“Alright, then…” Polly said, smiling as she gestured for Oz to follow her. “You’ll forget all about that fishstick in no time.” She lead him to the locker rooms so he could freshen up with a sink shower. It’s a good thing Oz had a spare change of clothes in his gym locker. One quick freshening-up later, and he joined Polly outside the gym as the two then snuck into the Home-Ec lab by the cafeteria. Yeah, Spooky High still had one of those.**

Zoe shadowed the soon-to-be lovebirds the whole way, watching, listening, waiting for the perfect opportunity to add more to this ship.

“No one uses this room anymore, not since Home-Ec was cut,” Polly said. “Which is good because here’s where I do my baking!”

“Wait… you bake?” Oz asked.

“Well, duh. I’ve cooked up so many drugs and pot brownies, but I like to bake with sober stuff too.”

“But… you don’t eat.”

“I never said they were for  _ me _ ,” Polly said with a wink. “Come on, there’s still some good ingredients in here we could use. What are you in the mood for?”

Oz grabbed one of the ancient cookbooks, and flipped it open to the desserts chapter. “Cake sounds nice…”

“Great! You grab the tools, I’ll grab the ingredients!” Polly giggled as she floated up to pick up some flour, eggs, sugar, butter, everything needed to make a basic cake.

And a couple ounces of weed… can’t forget that.

Oz, meanwhile, picked up all the bowls, utensils, and even an electric mixer, before returning to Polly.

“Wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in another,” Polly instructed, showing that she knew her stuff as she and Oz got to work.

Watching all this, Zoe had second thoughts. If all goes well, then they’ll probably just get high together… but it’d be a shame if they had some… “ _ sexy _ accident.”

**The dry and wet ingredients were set to be mixed together. Polly insisted on holding the mixer.**

**“Hey, at least let me help…!” Oz suggested, getting up behind her and helping her keep the mixer steady. It was then she felt a bit of a bulge pressing into her rear.**

**“Are you really that happy to be with me or did you have a mixer in your pocket too?” she asked. Oz just blushed and backed off.**

**“Oh! I’m so sorry!” he quickly apologized. “I… I feel so embarrassed…!”**

**“It’s okay. Go ahead, Tiger. Keep going…!” Polly teased with a smirk. She waited for Oz to make a move; it was clear she wanted him to keep it going. He slowly walked back to her and placed himself behind her again, feeling a bit more confident now. “There you go…! Just like that,” Polly giggled as she turned the mixer on.**

Zoe set her pen down… as fun as it was to write, she loved it even more as her ships developed on their own… well, with her help.

The ghost knew Oz was the type to easily get flustered. He was so cute when he blushed… and then the ingredients went flying, causing both to yelp in surprise as the area became a complete mess.

Now the two stood, covered in moist, sweet batter. So much for baking… Oz looked quite disappointed but seeing Polly laughing at this accident… somehow that made it all better. It even brought Oz to chuckle, too.

He remembered what it felt like to laugh… and all that grief was closer to being a thing of the past. Polly even further cheered him up by letting him eat some of the batter that fell on her, showing there was no harm done.

Zoe consulted her chart. Her OTPs for Vicky and Oz were going swimmingly. They still had a long way to go before becoming fully-fledged couples, but this was a good start… Two down, two to go!


	4. Chapter 4

Amira was off with Scott, helping him out as he worked out in the school’s gym.

“Thirty-eight… thirty-nine… thirty-ten… thirty-eleven…”

“Forty, Scott,” Amira reminded. “Forty comes after thirty-nine.”

“Oh, right,” Scott said as he set himself down on the floor, feeling sore after all of those push-ups with Amira on his back.

Zoe, watching from behind the bleachers, knew this had to change.

“Hmm… These two seem pretty solid,” she muttered under her breath. “How am I gonna get them into their  _ real _ pairings? … I know!”

**“Scott… can I tell you something?” Amira asked.**

**“Oh. Okay. What’s up?”  Scott asked, sitting up, wagging his tail.**

**“I kinda have something to tell you…” Amira began. “I feel… off.”**

**“Off what?” Scott asked.**

**“Like… I’m starting to think that maybe… we’re not gonna work out.”**

**“What?! Not work out!? But… but my muscles!”**

**“Scott, no… I mean…” Amira sighed, exasperated as she tried to find the right words. “Like… you and I.”**

“… Does this have to do with the fact that you’re Lebanese?” Scott asked.

Zoe just blinked at that. “What…?” she muttered to herself. She didn’t write  _ that _ ...

Amira paused. “Not Lebanese.  _ Lesbian _ ,” she corrected.

Amira was a lesbian? Zoe never would’ve guessed. But, hey, this still works, and it still works with her shipping chart! Good thing she gave each of them a male and a female OTP option depending on their sexuality. She just assumed everyone was bi.

“Look, let me tell you this. I’m into girls, but you’re the only guy I’ve fallen for. That’s gotta count for something right?” Amira asked, giving Scott a kiss on the forehead before she bid Scott farewell for now, and left the gym.

When Zoe looked up, she saw a disheartened werewolf, ears drooped, and tail hanging low. It felt wrong to see such a good boy so down in the dumps… Zoe stood up from her hiding spot, and closed the notebook as she sat down beside him.

“Scott?” Zoe asked. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I dunno…” He sighed. “Like… Amira’s such a cool person. Did I do something to upset her?”

“Her being gay isn’t your fault. And like she said, she still loves you.”

“She does?” Scott asked, his tail starting to wag.

“Well… kinda, yeah,” Zoe nervously coughed. “Do you… like her?”

“Yeah! I mean, she’s good at sports, and nice, and pretty, and… good at sports. No other girl at this school is even  _ interested in _ sports, let alone good at them!”

Zoe hesitated for a moment. Her hand squeezed her long tentacle, waiting to say what she wanted to say. “What about Brian?”

“Brian?”

“Yeah… he’s pretty good at sports. You like muscles, right?”

“Of course I like muscles!” Scott answered. “But, wait… Brian’s not a girl…”

“So?”

“Well, I dunno… I guess I was just thinking like only girls can be pretty.”

“Weeeeell… maybe. But Brian’s  _ handsome _ .”

“Oh, you’re right! ‘cause of the muscles!” Scott cheered. “Wait… but guys are supposed to like girls… not other guys.”

“It’s 20XX. You can be in love with whoever you want!” Zoe reminded.

“Really!? Oh boy, oh man! There’s so many people to love!” Scott grinned, hopping back up on his feet. “I’m gonna go invite Brian to a wrestling match to see if he likes me!”

“O-okay! Good luck, Scott,” Zoe said, watching him bound off to… somewhere. Oh man, the idea of Scott and Brian together, with all their muscles? Zoe was getting hot and bothered just thinking about it. She flipped open the notebook, ready to guide this new ship into port!

**Brian, meanwhile, was in the locker rooms changing out of his gym clothes and into his normal wardrobe and parka. For some reason, it felt warmer and… furrier than usual.**

**“Hey bro!” Scott greeted with a smile and the wag of his tail. “I was looking for a wrestling partner! Wanna join me?”**

**“YES!” Brian blurted out. “I… I mean… sure.”**

Okay…  _ maybe _ Zoe was getting a little giddy… but she got the ball rolling. And now that Scott and Brian were taken care off, that left only one more on her list. But she still wanted to see where this scene goes! She kept reading.

**As Brian and Scott entered the weight room, they laid out a flat mat for them to wrestle on. The two hardly wasted any time, trying to get the other into pins and locks. Scott, being the larger of the two, had the advantage of strength, but Brian’s undead constitution gave him the advantage of stamina.**

Zoe was having way too much fun imagining Brian’s, “undead constitution…”. Oh, how she wished she could see this match for real! But reading it play out would just have to do for now.

**“Great form, bro!” Scott said, as Brian soon pulled a reversal on Scott.**

**“Gee… thanks!” Brian said as Scott struggled to break free from Brian’s hold. However, Scott didn’t seem to want to get out of this. Here was this man standing over him making him feel funny, but in a good way… kinda like with Amira. Brian didn’t have the drive that she did, but he was just so chill. His relaxed demeanor helped Scott himself calm down in a way. Not to mention those thick, shiny muscles…**

Okay, Zoe added that last part in on her own. It’s a good thing nobody else was in the gym, because she was practically  _ squealing _ with joy. This ship was forming so naturally… Zoe didn’t have to write as much for this romance to blossom.

Shit! School was nearly out! She only had a few more minutes to set Amira up before she left for the day! But she couldn’t just leave this juicy Scott x Brian action! Zoe quickly scribbled a few more lines into the notebook.

**“Let’s hit the showers,” Brian said once their match had wrapped up. Scott nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow with a nearby towel, as they headed to the locker rooms.**

Zoe would have to re-read the rest of this later, as she picked up the rest of her stuff, and scurried off to find Amira.


	5. Chapter 5

The djinn sighed. Two of her best friends were devastated, and now she had to tell Scott she just wasn’t feeling it. She just wanted to  _ help _ someone… but it just felt like she was pushing everyone away. She stood before her locker, organizing her backpack before going home for the day. It didn’t take long for her to bump into the biggest boss bitch at the school: Vera Oberlin.

“Watch it,” the gorgon sneered.

Well, this certainly wasn’t helping Amira’s mood.

“What? No retort?” Vera asked, eyes still fixed in a killing stare. Amira, however, was having none of it.

“Don’t you have some chump to extort?” Amira asked. “Or does being a bitch pay well enough already?”

It was around this time that Zoe had caught up to her. She kept herself hidden around the corner, hearing the exchange between the other two girls. Taking out her handy dandy notebook, she pondered on how to let this ship sail. Hmm… this could be a good opportunity for some steamy hate-sex down the road…

“Look, I’m not in the mood for your better-than-thou attitude, okay?! My friends just learned their partners were cheating on them and I had to break up with Scott… You happy?” Amira snapped.

“Oh, is  _ that _ what’s got your panties in a knot?” Vera smirked. “And I thought it was something  _ important _ , like, I don’t know,  _ not _ breaking the heart of one of my closest friends here,” she continued, her tone becoming more venomous.

“You think Scott’s an idiot. Why do you care?” Amira asked, causing Vera to just scoff at her.

“He may be dumb, but he’s not cruel! He’s the last person to deserve getting his heart broken, and you know it!” Vera hissed.

“Should I…?” Zoe asked herself. Every second she spent waiting, the closer these two became to not hooking up at all!

**“I’m a lesbian!” Amira said aloud. “There, I said it! Are you happy now!? I’m not going to just lead Scott on. I** **_had_ ** **to tell him it wasn’t going to work.”**

**The two paused as the silence in the air took over… the tension was thick.**

**“But I guess it shows what place** **_your_ ** **heart’s in. You didn’t even raise an eyebrow at what happened at lunch.”**

“You think I didn’t notice?” Vera asked. “I pay attention to a  _ lot _ of things. I might not have been there, but I can put the dots together. Besides, it was pretty much announced over the P.A. system! It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, or figure out just how hurt Oz and Vicky are…”

“And you’re not going to do anything about it?” Amira asked.

Vera sighed. “Why would I? I’m not a consultant. I might have money, brains, beauty… but I can’t fix the rift between them.”

“Really now?” Amira asked in disbelief.

**“No one can,” Vera repeated. “All you can do is treat the damage.”**

**Amira sighed, and slumped down against the lockers. “I just want to help them… I don’t know what to do.”**

Zoe knew, though. It would be a little out of character… but she kinda needed this to happen.

**Vera knelt down beside Amira,. The djinn looked up, vulnerable, but curious.**

**“I know this might not seem like the best time…” Vera began. “But, if you’re ever in the mood, feel free to stop by my place. Just to talk, or have a bite… anything.”**

**Amira sniffed, rubbing a forming tear out of her eye. “What’s gotten into** **_you_ ** **?” She chuckled.**

**“Contrary to what you may believe, I actually do** **_care_ ** **about people,” Vera answered. “I might not be able to fix** **_every_ ** **thing that goes on in this goddamn school, but I can at least make someone feel better… even if it’s just for a while.**

**Vera offered her hand, and Amira used it to lift herself up.**

**Even after Vera helped Amira to her feet, their fingers never left each other. The two shared a warm look, and one of Vera’s serpents delivered a quick peck on Amira’s cheek.**

**The two then found themselves in Spooky High’s art studio, donning smocks and taking out clay.**

“So… what are we doing?” Amira asked.

“Well, to be perfectly honest, I still have an assignment due,” Vera answered. “But I’m flattered that you decided to join me.”

“Oh… okay?” Amira remarked. “What’s the assignment?”

“Sculpture work,” Vera answered. She dropped a slab of cold, unshapen clay onto the table. “I have to shape this into my partner.”

“P-partner?”

“For the assignment. Buuut… I petrified my last art partner because she stepped on my designer heels. Mr. Pricasso said it didn’t count. So, now I’m in need of someone else to help me.”

“Sure… I can help,” Amira replied, picking up her own block of clay. “I just gotta sculpt your face, right? How hard could it be?”

Evidently, very hard. Who would have guessed that a gorgon would have trouble sitting still with twisting, slithering, coiling snakes for hair? Amira tried to capture Vera’s visage with clay, but… she just didn’t have the talent for it. Her flame’s heat only caused the clay to harden faster, leaving the djinn with a round potato-shaped head with a face drawn in it.

“I tried…” Amira said with a nervous laugh.

“You tried, and you failed,” Vera replied with a smirk. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

Vera’s hands began to expertly sculpt the clay into a humanoid likeness. Now if only Amira was good at sitting still. The clay on her hands was getting sticky… and dry.

“Hold still,” Vera remarked, taking hold of the djinn’s chin and turning her head back towards her. It left a stain of clay on her cheek, and the two were getting quite messy after all the sculpting.

By the time Vera was finished, she took a step back from her masterpiece.

Amira was pretty stunned… Vera’s sculpture looked magnificent. She even managed to get the flame down.

“Wow…” the djinn gasped. “I never took you for an artist.”

“Eh, it’s when I don’t wanna cheat around my art projects.” Vera responded.

“Well, it’s still really good,” Amira complimented, wiping the clay off her cheek. Vera chuckled at that.

“Feeling better?” Vera asked.

“I… I guess,” Amira answered with a smile. Suddenly, the bell rang. “So, wanna head out?” she asked.

“What’s got you so perky?”

“I dunno… you maybe?” Amira suggested as both headed out the room. Zoe was overcome with utter delight! Four for four OTPs made officially canon! Surely she can be at peace now!

… Right?


	6. Chapter 6

It had been some time after that day… a full day after Zoe got her tentacles on the Notebook of the Fates. She decided to hold off on writing any more in the book. After she went home, the book stopped writing itself… maybe it worked by proximity?

In any case, she copied all her written words online, and uploaded them into her frequent fanfiction sites. Her followers were eating up all this Spooky High drama!

With the book still in her possession, Zoe sat herself down back in Horrible Histories class. Wait a second… Oz and Vicky were in this class. She sat behind them… quietly listening in on them.

“So… about yesterday,” Oz began.

“Yeah…” Vicky sighed. “Are you alright?”

“I… yeah,” Oz answered. “You?”

“I should be fine,” Vicky answered. Oz then noticed something… different about her.

“You look different.”

“I… I _feel_ different,” Vicky remarked.

“It looks nice.”

“... Thank you… you know, Damien actually helped me,” Vicky admitted, causing Oz to do a spit take.

“D-D-Damien…!”

“Yeah? Damien…”

“Damien? Like… _Damien LaVey!?”_

“What are you so worked up about? He’s… a nice guy. You know, when he’s not actively being a bully and a delinquent.”

Speak of the devil, he doth arrive at class late.

“Mr. LaVey…” began Mrs. The Loch Ness Monster. “So glad of you to join us…” she droned on.

“Bite me,” he answered, making his way towards his desk before the teacher could take him up on that offer. He gave Vicky a wave as he approached her and Oz right in front. “You. I want this seat.”

“B-but…!” Oz stammered.

“Damien, let Oz sit next to me. Besides, we have class later. We could sit together then,” Vicky promised. Damien did not look happy, but he just groaned.

“Fine, babe,” he said before kissing her on the cheek and taking his regular seat in the very back. Zoe just watched as this scene went down.

“He called her, ‘babe!’ He kissed her!’” Zoe quietly gasped. “It’s working!”

“So… I guess it’s over, huh?” Vicky said, catching Zoe’s attention again. “No more Liam… no more Miranda?”

“I guess not…” Oz answered. “B-But… Polly’s been really nice to me.”

“Aww~! She’s so sweet!”

“Ms. Schmidt, is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class?” Mrs. The Loch Ness Monster asked, causing the entire class, save for Oz and Damien to laugh at her.

Zoe felt so tempted to reach for the notebook. She could probably fix this… but how? But it turns out she didn’t need to, as Vicky stood up.

“I’m sorry, was my consoling my friend over being dumped and abused too distracting?” she asked, intriguing just about everyone.

“You sit right down, Ms. Schmidt! OR ELSE!”

“Fine… but you seriously need to chill,” Vicky informed as she sat down in her seat, gravely pissing off Mrs. The Loch Ness Monster.

“Since I like you, and you have the best grades in my class, I’m letting you off with a warning, Ms. Schmidt,” The teacher snarled. “And you, LaVey, detention for being late again!”

Damien just rolled his eyes. Retroactive punishment was something he’s used to. What he _wasn’t_ used to was Vicky getting belittled like that, especially by teachers who otherwise loved her for being so perfect.

Zoe wanted to push them in the write direction… but only if they wanted. She wrote a single line in the notebook.

**“If I get detention, I can spend more time with Damien… should I?” Vicky thought to herself.**

And with that, Vicky got back up and… put her hair in a ponytail before turning to face the class. Oz, Damien, and Zoe watched with a confused curiosity.

“These history books are outdated anyway. Why not actually do some research on just how _mucked up_ _bologna_ our forefathers have done to the world and each other! We’re getting a condensed version of history that makes everyone who isn’t us into the bad guys when we’re just as guilty for doing the very same things! I say we petition getting history books rewritten, because we’re doomed to repeat every bad thing our ancestors have done if we don’t learn from it!”

“ _DETENTION_!” The teacher growled through her teeth as the class applauded her. “MS. SCHMIDT, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!”

“Well… I’m not sorry.”

That was probably the most badass thing Miss Perfect has ever done before sitting back down and diligently taking notes once again, as if that outburst, as correct as it may be, didn’t happen.

Damien gave an approving whistle from the back, and Oz just stared at her, dumbfounded. Zoe just had the widest grin on her face. This was perfect! She was already anticipating their second date as well as the Rated-X scene to follow!

After class ended, Zoe kept close tabs on the writing appearing in the notebook… Oh? Oz and Polly having a rendezvous in Study Hall? This should be fun! In actuality, it was a tutoring session for Mad Science, but still, fun! Time to peep.

**“So, a parsec is equal to 3.26 light years…” Oz explained to Polly.**

**“Uh-huh...” Polly remarked.**

**“Are you listening? We have a quiz on this tomorrow.”**

**“I’m listening, Sexy,” Polly answered with a smirk.**

**“Uh… what?”**

**“What?”**

**“‘Sexy?’”**

Ooh, this was getting good! Polly’s flirty nature made this ship real easy to progress naturally. Still, Zoe always had her pen at the ready. Maybe she can help Oz out a little… he need some kind words after what she previously put him through.

**“You heard me,” Polly said.**

**“Heh… heh…” Oz chuckled nervously.**

**He averted his gaze, only for Polly’s smirk to fade.**

Zoe didn’t write that last sentence… she hesitated to write any more. Should she let this ride out?

**“Hey… what’s wrong?” The phantom asked.**

**“N-nothing,” Oz answered. “I-it was a good joke.”**

**“I wasn’t joking,” Polly replied with a straight face. “I really mean that.”**

**“Really?” He asked, slowly turning back to her.**

**Polly simply nodded with a warm smile.**

**“N-nobody’s ever said that to me,” Oz quietly murmured.**

**“Nobody? Not even Mi—”**

**“Please, I… I kinda don’t wanna hear her name right now.”**

**Polly paused for a moment. “So… she’s never called you sexy?”**

**“No…” Oz answered.**

**“Well, she doesn’t know what she’s missing,” Polly told him as she hugged him tightly.**

**Oz nearly pulled himself away… but, after a while, he began to relax… He put his hand on Polly’s, grasping it gently as he let out a shaky breath.**

Zoe had read and written enough fiction to recognize this… Was Oz… starved for physical affection? A little sad, but definitely worth adding to her headcanons!

**She squeezed his hand in return, resting her head on his shoulder. Oz turned to face her, and Polly gently leaned in for a slow kiss.**

**Oz was shocked to say the least. Sure, he’s shared kisses with…** **_her_ ** **before, but this was the first time a kiss felt… genuine. Like this girl actually cared about him and his well-being.**

She let these love-birds continue uninterrupted as she decided to check up on Brian and Scott. When she last left them, those two hunks were hitting it off pretty well. Zoe barely had to write anything! Currently, they were on the same team in dodgeball. Should she? Should she write a dramatic scene in which one sacrifices himself to save his boyfriend from an oncoming dodgeball to the gut? Oooh, that’d be juicy!

**It was down to Brian and Scott vs. Dahlia and Aaravi! Head to head as the only players left standing!**

**“Bro, this doesn’t look good!” Scott gasped. “What are we gonna do?! The blue one’s just as muscled as me, and the other one’s short, but really scary!”**

**“Stop calling me** **_short!_ ** **” the Slayer bellowed from the other side of the court. “I’ll Kill you!” She then grabbed a ball, Dahlia assisting her in hurtling it towards Brian. The zombie swiftly evaded the rubber projectile, but just barely! Scott was right, they needed a plan, or they were toast!**

**Scott observed the girls and saw Dahlia toss another dodgeball in the air, Aaravi preparing to shoot a dodgeball at Brian’s stomach while he’s distracted. The lob-and-drill! Classic dodgeball move. But it wasn’t going to get past Scott Howl!**

**As Dahlia tossed her ball upward, Scott leapt into the air to meet up with it. “I gotchu, Bro!” He shouted, catching the ball mid-air. Brian was then free to catch the dodgeball hurled straight for him. Coach blew his whistle after seeing this incredible maneuver. The game was** **_finally_ ** **over!**

“What?!” Dahlia objected. “I-Impossible! Such coordination! They’ve reached the pinnacle of friendship power!”

Yeah… _friendship_ …

“Oh, put a sock in it…” the Slayer growled, storming off to finally change out of her gym outfit.

**“Bro, we did it!” Scott cheered, laughing as he pulled Brian into a bearhug.**

**“Bro, bro! My back!”**

Were they saying, ‘bro,’ too much? No… that’s just what boys did, right? Well, at least that’s what Scott did. Oh! Amira and Vera! What were they up to?! She looked in her notebook to find that they were… ditching class? I mean, they must be if they were currently playing pool.

Zoe glanced at her watch… could she afford to skip class too, just to see what they’re doing? Obviously! Zoe went back to her Totem home just so she could read Amira and Vera’s billiards date.

**“That dress looks good on you,” Vera remarked, lining up a shot before tapping the ball with her cue.**

**“What are you talking about? I always wear this dress,” Amira replied.**

**“I know. It’s about time you got complimented on it.”**

**Amira paused… even as the two wandered around the table, she got a good look at the gorgon’s figure.**

**“You know… you’re pretty fine yourself.”**

**“I know,” Vera repeated, her voice dripping with a smug confidence. Vera was focused on her shot while Amira was focused on… something else.**

Now _this_ was too juicy for Zoe to ignore. Zoe had to admit, Vera had a nice set of legs. She should give them a little push… Zoe jotted down a quick thought, and waited to see what followed.

**“God, I just wanna kiss her so bad,” Amira thought. As soon as Vera shot that nine-ball into one of the pockets, she turned to Amira, catching her mid-stare.**

**“Normally, I’d be miffed, but I get the feeling that you like what you see,” Vera taunted with a smirk.**

**“Shut up, bitch!” Amira snapped with a chortle.**

**“You… you snort when you laugh?” Vera asked. Amira stopped laughing at that, suddenly embarrassed.**

**“Y-Yeah! What’s it to ya?”**

**“Nothing. I happen to think it’s cute.” Vera then helped Amira line up her cue, but not without getting a good feel of Amira’s curves. “Hey, is lesbians gotta stick together, right?” Vera asked.**

**Amira swallowed her embarrassment. “I’d stick to you all night long…”**

Wow, that was cheesy… but Zoe was just eating this dialogue up. She looked back on all four of her OTPs, happy with one another… it was perfect! But she had this sensation of wanting more…!

Zoe looked over her massive chart once more. All these sweet couples were well and good, but all this one-on-one stuff could get dull quick. Maybe she should make a love triangle? Well, she already split up the couples she deemed not worthy. Perhaps she could let Liam and Miranda see what they did was wrong and try to win back Vicky and Oz respectively, yet still have feelings for each other?

Or maybe she should branch out from beyond the main cast and start shipping the, “side characters,” that her audience had fallen in love with regardless of lack of interaction with the main cast? AaraviXValerieXInterdimensionalPrince? DahliaXCalculesterXLeonard? Eww! No one should be stuck with Leonard! LeonardXLonliness seemed like a better matchup. Hmm…! Decisions, decisions…

Screw it! She’s done playing it safe! She’s ready to take chances, make mistakes, get messy! First, writing up some cute fluff between Aaravi and Valerie, best _gal-pals_ , if you’re catching her drift. Next up, a spicy one-off romance between Pheel the Eel and that cute fairy therapist Norah! Clearly, he needs it! Finally, she began writing about Joy and Dmitri again, working in Faith and Hope as well to become a polyamorous foursome.

This is where things started to get… let’s say, “wrong.”

**The Coven angrily stormed down the halls.**

**“She said she’d get rid of it!” Hope growled.**

**“There’s no other way to explain it,” Faith answered. “Clearly, she’s using it for her own gain!”**

Well, this was interesting. Who were they talking about? Has another foe shown up in the Coven’s adventures?

 **“I can’t believe it! Me and** **_Dmitri_ ** **?! What was I thinking?!” Joy asked, taking another quick spit-take of mouthwash.**

**“You weren’t thinking!” Hope clarified. “You were under her control!”**

Uh-oh! Her characters are becoming self-aware…! If that wasn’t a clue, then the banging on her locker she and her totem were currently in certainly was.

**“Open up, Zoe!” Faith demanded. “It’s clear that you’re abusing the power of the Notebook of the Fates!”**

No, no, no! They were supposed to be swooning over Dmitri and fighting with each other before deciding on sharing him, not hunting her down! She quickly began to scribble something down, hoping to avert the problem.

**The Coven suddenly—**

Zoe didn’t get to finish writing. She was yanked out from her home and locker, returning to the physical world as the Coven angrily loomed over her.

“H-h-hey girls…!” Zoe greeted, waving awkwardly. “So… how was your date?”

“You mean, the date you manipulated us into having?” Joy sneered. “You promised you’d get rid of the notebook!”

“B-but… how?” Zoe whimpered. “How did you—?!”

“Our timeline-alteration-detector alerted us to your schemes!” Hope answered. “We know you’re behind all these sudden romances popping up around the school!

“I thought it was just a regular notebook! I WAS OUT OF PAPER FOR MY FANFIC WRITING!” Zoe confessed.

“And when did you realize that it wasn’t just a regular notebook?” Faith asked, not believing Zoe’s confession.

“When… Dmitri made out with Joy in the bathrooms stall?”

“Enough!” Joy shouted, her cheeks turning red. “Give us that book!”

The witches tried to swipe it from her tentacles, but Zoe didn’t want to give it up that easily. She quickly dodged them and ran off. Shoot! If only the Coven had magic powers to either stop Zoe in her tracks or teleport to her location and surrounding her in the process… or both.

Zoe frantically reached for her pen. She had to write herself out of this!

**ZOE WAS GONE!**

And the Coven found themselves grasping at air. They sat in stunned silence, as Zoe had vanished before them.


	7. Chapter 7

Suddenly, she found herself in what seemed like a void, notebook still in hand. It was dark… quiet… cold, too.

“Hello…?” she called out, her voice echoing throughout. She began to wander around until she found a single door… Wait a second!

ZOE! DO NOT OPEN THAT DOOR!

**What? Who said that?**

_ I DID _ . Do. Not. Go. In there.

**And I opened the door anyway, revealing a… grey, muscular figure, wearing only a baseball cap and briefs… and holding a microphone! YOU! YOU’RE THE NARRATOR!**

Zoe, listen to me. You should  _ not  _ be here. You need to back to the school. NOW.

**Why should I? I currently have the Coven after me because they want my book! I’m not giving it back to them!**

I don’t care. You can go wherever you want, but not  _ here. _ You can get back to your crazy ships, just  _ leave _ .

**Oh… I think I understand…**

Good. So you’ll go home th—?

**I understand that all this time, I thought I was in control… but** **_you’ve_ ** **been the one pulling** **_my_ ** **strings!**

Zoe—

**But NO MORE! Now… I’m in control!**

You can’t do this. I’m the  _ narrator _ ! I don’t  _ decide _ what happens. I  _ report _ what happens! I’m just the middleman!

**Maybe so. You might be just a narrator, but listen here…** **_I am the author!_ ** **I can write you out of existence!**

You wouldn’t…! Think of all the damages you’d cause!

**“Damages?!” I’ve done nothing but make happy romances for my friends! I give them what they deserve!**

You broke up two, no,  _ three _ relationships to satisfy your own headcanons!

**THEY WEREN’T MEANT TO BE! I** **_WILL_ ** **MAKE MY CHARACTERS HAPPY!**

Those aren’t characters, Zoe! They’re your  _ classmates _ ! Your  **_friends_ ** !

**Wh-what?**

These aren’t just some characters in a story of your creation. They’re living, breathing people, Zoe! They have their own personalities, their own interests,  **_their own lives_ ** ! You can’t just project whatever you want onto them.

**I… I just wanted to make them happy… they deserve to be happy together, right?**

They do. But you don’t need a magic notebook to make that happen.

**I look down at the book in my hands… this vessel I used to help my friends get together with those they’ll truly be happy with… No… I’m not giving m up! Not here! Not now! Grabbing my pen, I begin to write…!**

Zoe, wait! Stop! DON’T—

**Zoe leaves the Narrator’s realm. She is back in the hallway.**

… Phew! I was expecting something else… unless…?

Zoe opened her eyes… she was back in the hallway, alright. But it was dark. The moonlight crept through the window, showing the night sky outside. How long had she been in there?

At least the Coven was gone, for now. Zoe grabbed her pencil… now she had an opportunity to fix this. She started to erase the things she had written down, but the words remained. No matter how hard she tried, the words would not fall to the eraser.

“What?! N-no, there’s gotta be a way!” Zoe quietly gasped. She tried to scribble everything out… but the page wouldn’t allow her to. She tried tearing the pages out, but it was like a Hydra; for one page removed, two more appeared in its place. She tried to tear the book to shreds, but it wouldn’t so much as wrinkle. This book was indestructible…

Zoe slumped down in defeat. She couldn’t  _ undo _ what she had done… The things she made others do and say… they couldn’t be taken back.

**Zoe… felt alone. She needed someone to talk to… She needed to apologize to** **_someone._ ** **Anyone.**

Her hand writing appeared on another blank page… This was the first time Zoe had actually seen herself appear in the book… without writing it herself.

The book was right. It always was. Zoe wished she wasn’t alone right now… She had plenty of time to reconcile before class began the next morning, but… where to start? The hours passed as Zoe thought up the right things to say… to everyone.

**Her thoughts kept going back to the book… She wasn’t going to put this inanimate object at fault, no matter how magical and powerful it was. It was her who decided to take it, her who decided to use it, and it was her who was to blame.**

**She was just overcome with guilt right now, but she wanted to make things right. This was no time to wallow in self-pity. She might not be able to fix** **_everything_ ** **, but she had to make amends with those she hurt.**

**Zoe was the one who got herself into this mess… and she would be the one to get herself out.**

The following morning, she made her way to apologize to the MCs. She meddled with their lives the most. She observed them from where she stood; all appeared to be normal, still chatting with each other as to who’s gonna ask whom to prom…

“There’s something I need to tell you guys,” Zoe solemnly said, approaching their table. All four stopped to pay attention to her. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Vicky asked.

“I-I’m the one who set you all up… I… I’m the one who made Liam and Miranda have their affair,” Zoe confessed. She winced, and for a brief moment, only the sound of Vicky’s spoon falling to the floor could be heard.

“Y-you… what?” Oz stammered.

“How?” Vicky asked, the pain becoming audible in her voice. She quickly got to her feet, hands slamming on the table. “ _ HOW _ ?!”

“And  _ why _ ?!” Oz questioned.

“W-wait! There’s more,” Zoe added while Amira and Brian held Oz and Vicky back, respectively. “I also set all of you up… with your… dates, people I thought would be better for all of you.”

“What?” Brian asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Polly, Vera, Damien, Scott… I made all of them fall for you. I thought you all would be happier with them… instead of who you were with.”

Vicky and Oz were even more angry, but Amira’s expression softened.

“You know what? I kinda have to thank you,” she admitted. “I was struggling to tell Scott how I felt for a while now. I love him, sure, but my feelings felt… kind of forced.”

“But… how are you able to do that?” Brian answered. “You still haven’t told us.”

“Um… w-well…” Zoe began, retrieving the notebook. “Anything I write in this… comes true. It lets me read and rewrite fate. I wrote the beginnings of each of your new romances, but they developed and took a life of their own.”

Even as Zoe explained it, she opened up the pages, as more words scribbled themselves out of thin air.

**“Anything I write in this… comes true. It lets me read and rewrite fate. I wrote the beginnings of each of your new romances, but they developed and took a life of their own,” Zoe explained to them.**

Oz stopped thrashing in Amira’s arms. He dropped back into his chair, and nearly started sobbing again.

“So… that was fake, too?” he asked. “Did… did Polly never love me, either?”

“Like I said, I only wrote how they began, and they developed on their own. If Polly, or of any of them didn’t truly care for you, they would’ve left already and you’d probably be back with your old partners,” Zoe explained.

“All you did was sow the seeds…” Vicky softly said, finally understanding, sitting back down. “But  _ we’re _ the ones who made them grow…”

“When you put it like that, yes,” Zoe remarked. “I have to admit, I was going crazy with writing what I wanted to see. I went too far. I intervened when I shouldn’t have…” Brian just walked over to her and let her sit down, placing his hand on her shoulders.

“Look, Zo,” he began. “Yeah… what you did was fucked up.”

“Thanks for the reminder…”

“But… I forgive you. You meant well, and that’s all that matters.”

“Except it’s not,” Oz argued. “You might’ve meant well, but I don’t know if I could trust, well, anybody anymore… how do I know what’s real?”

“You didn’t have to tear us apart like that…” Vicky quietly added. She wasn’t as angry anymore… just feeling betrayed. “If you think we were better off with other people, then you could’ve said something. Heck, we say that to Oz all the time about—”

“Vicky, please…” Oz sighed.

“Sorry…” Vicky apologized before turning her attention back to Zoe. “And the people you think we should be with could’ve come forward to us directly if they felt anything. They didn’t need your help.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am,” Zoe answered. “If I could undo all of this, I would. If I could  _ destroy this damn book _ , I would! And I’ve tried! This thing’s material is like kevlar and steel had a baby and then that baby had a baby with a book!”

“Well, we told you it’s not to be trifled with,” a familiar, disappointed trio of voices said from behind Zoe.

“Oh… hi girls…” Zoe said, not bothering to face them. She could already tell they hadn’t forgiven her, either.

“If you want to make this up to us, then give us the Notebook of the Fates,” Joy proclaimed. Zoe didn’t have to think twice about handing it over. She did hesitate for a bit before turning around to give it to Joy.

“As for the rest of you, are you all okay?” Faith asked.

“We should be fine, right?” Amira asked.

“I don't know…” Vicky answered.

“Same here…” Oz added.

Brian didn’t respond right away. “We’ll need a bit of time.”

“We understand,” said Hope. “For now… we need to seal this book away so no one else could mess with it.”

“And again, I’ve tried destroying it to no avail,” Zoe admitted.

“We sought to  _ seal  _ it, not  _ destroy  _ it,” Faith corrected. “Fate is not something that can just be removed. All we can do is make sure nobody tampers with it.”

“Told you we should have used our amnesia spell on her after she swallowed it,” Hope grumbled to her sisters.

“We’ll take it from here,” Joy said, as the Coven made their leave with the notebook.

“Well…” Zoe said. “Now what?”

“I should go…” Oz answered. “I gotta think about this for a while…”

“Me too…” Vicky added before both left the cafeteria, leaving Zoe alone with Brian and Amira.

“Just leave them be,” Brian said.

“And like we said, we’re kinda grateful you meddled,” Amira told her.

“Really? You guys are okay with it?” Zoe asked.

“Well… yeah. However, that doesn’t mean Oz or Vicky are, or ever will be,” Brian answered.

Zoe just sat with the two of them, unsure of what to say or do at this point… she just hoped that the other two will be okay…


	8. Chapter 8

Oz found himself on the rooftop of the school. The sun was starting to set, which led to a dim orange glow lighting up the sky over his secluded spot.

If the Coven really took care of that book, then everything that happened from now on would be real, right?

Even though it was all spurred on by a lie… that pain he felt certainly wasn’t fake. But what else was fabricated? Was anything he felt his own emotion, or just what Zoe wrote him to feel? This feeling… it scared him.

“Ozwald?”

That voice… no…! It couldn’t be…! Right?

It came from behind him. The door to the roof was open, and _she_ was standing there. Miranda. His heart twisted in knots just seeing her here.

“Wh-what do you want with me?” Oz stammered. “I-I told you, we’re done—!”

“I want to apologize…” Miranda interrupted.

Oz didn’t respond… really? Was this really happening? Could anything she say _really_ make him forgive her?

“… Explain yourself,” Oz demanded, turning his back towards her, almost ready to laugh at whatever excuse she came up with, whether it was fabricated by Zoe or not. He needed to remind himself that he wouldn’t let himself get hurt anymore.

“I’m sorry for using you. I just saw you as another one of my serfs. I didn’t know that you actually cared for me,” Miranda said, walking up to him.

“So they were right after all…” Oz muttered to himself.

“The truth is… I harbor deep feelings for someone else, but I thought I could have him and you at the same time,” She added, not really making Oz feel better about any of this. The two stood in silence before Oz finally faced her, fists clenched, holding himself back.

“You were wrong,” he finally said. “You can have Liam, because it’s clear you don’t care about me… you never did.”

“No! I—!”

“Zoe was right… I _am_ better off with Polly. Unlike you, she actually cares about what _I_ think, how _I_ feel!”

“Well, how do you know?!” she asked. Oz couldn’t answer… How _did_ he know? How much of what happened between them was of Zoe’s doing? How much of that was real?

“Polina has made love to many in the past,” Miranda continued. Her own hands were shaking, and she was losing her own composure. “You weren’t the first! What makes you think you’ll be the last!?”

“I… gotta go.”

“No!” Miranda said, standing in his way. “This is a question that _needs_ to be answered.”

“You don’t want to love me, you don’t _me_ to love anyone _else_ … How miserable do I have to be before you’re satisfied?!” Oz screamed in her face, phobias growing, making him appear more monstrous. “All you’ve done is lead me on, break my heart, and tell me I’m not good enough for anyone else! Why do you ḫ̬a̰̟̼̗͔̼̝͢t̴e̼ ͔̹͚͕ͅm̴̩̪̼̲̱̥̜e͙̮̯̭͡!̙̲͓?͉͕͓͈͓̮̟”

“OZ!” she shrieked, witnessing his form beginning to take a terrifying shape. Frightened, she took a step back, until her back was against the door to the staircase.

“J̟͎̺͈̬͕U̙S̨̼̱T͇̪͕̺̺ͅ ̹̗̝̜͇̜TE͇̹͈L̴͓̩͎L̪̞̹̗͘ͅ ̝̣͔̞̰M͟E̡ ̩W̪̱͇̮̱H̪̲̣̝̣̪Y̨͔͉̞͕!̵̺̣̦̺̹ͅ” Oz demanded, his face leaking tears. “Please… just tell me _…_ ” He couldn’t hold it in anymore; he broke down back to his vulnerable, humanoid self, sobbing on his knees. Miranda knelt in turn to join him.

“Ozwald, I never hated you,” Miranda answered. “I _can’t_ hate you. If anything… I wanted you all to myself, and I… I envy you.”

Now she had his attention.

“Envy? Seriously?” Oz managed to say through the tears. “What’s there to envy? There’s nothing I have that you don’t already…”

“How about people who love you without feeling threatened to do so?” Miranda answered. “When I saw you dote me without me even having to ask… I wanted that.”

“Is that how you got to Liam in the Principal’s office?” Oz dryly asked. “Did you threaten _him_ , too?”

“I… no. I didn’t. In fact, I don’t know what came over me.”

Oz did, but he’d rather not say it. But… could he blame her? Even if it was Zoe’s choice?

“Ozwald, you don’t have to forgive me.”

“Good… because I don’t think I can.”

Before she turned away from him, Oz only caught a glimpse of the anguish on Miranda’s face. A pain she partly saw coming. “I’m sorry,” she said to him, before descending back down the stairs.

Oz was left alone again… He wanted to be alone right now, but at the same time, he didn’t. There was a part of him who wanted him and Miranda to be together again, a part of him who wanted what happened between him and Polly to be real, and a part of him who was just _done_. Not done with life, but maybe with love. That he didn’t deserve it. Maybe love was just not meant for him.

Fortunately, there was one person ready to prove him wrong. She was outside, on the bleachers, blasting, “Rock With You,” by Michael Jackson but-an-actual-zombie from her boombox at full volume, connected to the outside speakers. He looked down, and there was Polly… Was she…? Did she…?!

Out on the football field, Oz could read “ **P R O M ?** ” spelled out in giant pink letters across the grass, and a few empty paint cans by Polly’s feet.

The sting in Oz’s heart quickly melted away, just seeing her smile up at him. With her, he could forget what pain felt like. Even from up here, he could tell she was the one. It took him a while, but he ran down to join her, nearly crashing into her as he approached.

“Hey! So… you like?” Polly asked. Oz could barely say what was on his mind, he was overwhelmed with, well, so many emotions. However, Miranda’s question still haunted him. How _did_ he know that Polly was genuinely into him? “Ozzy… are you okay?”

“I… I don’t know,” Oz answered. “Polly, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, boo! What’s up?”

“Do you… do you love me?”

Polly just blinked. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do!”

“But… like… really?” Oz asked again.

“Would I have asked you to Prom if I didn’t?” Polly asked in return. She took hold of Oz’s hands, and put her hand on his cheek, as she looked into his white eyes. She could feel his face grow warmer, even as Oz returned the eye contact.

Just looking into her eyes made him weak. Her laugh, her smile… her soft teal eyes… she was so full of love. So eager and ready to enjoy life… and Oz wanted to feel the same. Mustering up whatever courage he had inside him, Oz took the opportunity. He leaned in, pressing his mouth against hers. Polly was surprised for a brief moment, but she only leaned into it.

Oz pulled away after a few seconds. His heart was pounding, and his hands were trembling… this feeling Polly gave him… this was familiar, but also completely new. Was this… was this what love felt like? _Real_ love?

“There you go, boo,” Polly laughed. “You’re getting the hang of this.”

“Polly… I… _really_ like you. I-I love you,” Oz began. “I’ve never felt so happy before… nobody else makes me feel the way you do. And I want to make _you_ feel like nobody else can.”

“Oz, what are you—”

“I know I’m not your first, and I might not be your last… but I want our time together to be… special, you know?”

“Oh, Ozzy…” Polly cooed. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard!”

Oz’s blush returned. It was rare for him to open up like that… but he _was_ pleased to know Polly was so understanding.

“To be real, not a lot of people tell me they want something, ‘special…’ and when they do, I just don’t see any chemistry with them,” Polly continued. “But _you_ ? I can see us being _very_ special. Will it last? Time will tell. But let’s just focus on right here and now, you know?”

Oz just nodded. “Here and now… right,” He happily sighed. “Well, I hope we can still think about Prom, then.”

“Of course, silly!” Polly answered, throwing her arms around him. Despite being a ghost, her embrace felt warm. Oz easily lifted her weightless body with his arms, carrying her with a smile on his face. For once in a long while, Oz felt… at peace. This moment in time is exactly where he wanted to be.

Meanwhile, Vicky was playing a song of her own on the piano in the Music Room. Her mind was racing with questions, frustrating her to no end. Her fingers danced along to _Für Elise_ at a much quicker tempo than was required, hoping to distract herself from her own stress.

This fast finger playing caught the attention of not one, but two of her fellow classmates, who were waiting outside… both looking like they had just stepped out of a fight. Both stood in silence before one of them opened the door, causing her fingers to slip during the final note, and she was brought out of her zone.

“Dammit…”

But after the note finished echoing in the room, she heard a lone individual clapping softly. Liam stood by the door. How long had he been waiting outside?

In any case, Vicky stood right up, marched over to the vampire, and delivered a harsh slap across his cheek, which seemed like nothing compared to his blackened eye from earlier.

“I deserved that,” Liam groaned, feeling a red-hot imprint of her palm on his face.

“You deserve a lot worse,” Vicky answered.

“I know…” Liam sighed, taking his glasses off his face to wipe the lenses with a cloth, only for one to break and fall out from its frame.

“ _Für Elise_ , huh?” he remarked. “How fitting you choose that song.”

“What do you mean?”

“Beethoven composed that song for a woman he was infatuated with. She wasn’t skilled at piano, so he made the first few notes simple enough for anyone to play with ease,” Liam explained.

“When he found out that Elise was in love with another man, however, he altered the song to be nearly impossible for a beginner to play. To spite her.”

“So? You’re skilled at the piano too.”

“Maybe so…” Liam answered, sitting down on the piano bench, wincing from other injuries. “I at least hope you see the same irony I do.” It was then she actually noticed that Liam was moving a bit more… sluggish.

“What happened to you?” she asked, concern rising in her voice.

“I happened to him,” another voice answered as he stepped in the door: Damien LaVey. He looked slightly better off than Liam, with a couple of visible bruises here and there.

“Damien! I told you, I never wanted you to thrash Liam!” she said to Damien with a glare.

“He broke your heart. I had to!” Damien argued, glaring at the vampire he already butted heads with multiple times throughout the year.

“You could have just _talked_ with me,” Liam groaned.

“You know what they say. Actions speak louder than words. ‘Actions,’ being what I named both my fists,” Damien retorted.

“Guys, come on!” Vicky spoke up, getting between them. “We’re all adults here, right? … We’re high schoolers, but still adults, _right_?”

“Of course,” Liam answered.

“Yeah, fine. Whatever,” Damien huffed, reluctantly sitting down beside her.

“So,” Vicky began again. “Now that we’re _civil…_ ”

Her gaze turned to Liam. He said nothing for a moment, until both her and the demon were glaring at him.

“I’m… sorry,” he finally said.

The other two didn’t let up.

Liam gave a deep sigh. “I know you’re not willing to forgive me. I’m aware what I did was wrong, and selfish, and immoral. There is no excuse in the world I can give.”

Vicky had to cut him a little slack. It wasn’t his fault. Zoe was the one pulling the strings, but Liam? He thought that was his own doing.

“Give me your best,” Vicky told him. “Honestly, why did you do it?”

Liam paused again. He wasn’t proud about what he had to say next.

“The last time I had sex was over a hundred years ago,” Liam began. “And even then, the details are hazy at best. As despicable as it sounds, something about Miranda… _awakened_ something within me. Unearthed some memory of an age long past.”

“So you cheat on your girlfriend to get your dick wet after a century?” Damien asked with a scoff. “Man, that’s pathetic.”

“Well… I _did_ tell you I wanted to wait until we were ready,” Vicky admitted. “But you did it knowing full well it would hurt me.”

“I… did,” Liam solemnly admitted. “I know nothing I could do would ever make it up to you. But, I will be willing to try.”

Vicky, however, wasn’t. “I trusted you. We made a promise,” she reminded. “If I let you off that easily, I’m only setting myself up to get hurt more.”

Damien prepared to crack his knuckles, ready to punch Liam again. Liam flinched at this. Luckily, Vicky was already between them.

“Damien. _No,”_ Vicky growled.

As Damien sat back down with a growl of his own, Liam stood up. “I… understand,” he stated. “Well… I shall end this with dignity. I wish you two the best of luck… and I hope we can still remain friends.”

“I’ll accept that,” Vicky said with a smile, taking out her hand for him to shake. Damien was hesitant, rolling his eyes. “Damien…!”

“Fine…! Still friends, or whatever…”

Liam’s face slowly warmed into a smile, despite his injuries, and despite everything that happened. Seeing Vicky happy again was all he needed. He turned to them as he left the two alone in the Music Room.

“So…”

“So…?”

“Do you… genuinely like me?” Vicky asked.

“Uh… yeah,” Damien answered. “Do you even need to ask?”

“Okay. When did you start liking me?” She needed to make sure that Damien’s feelings weren’t of Zoe’s doing.

“Heh… Well, this is gonna sound dumb. But I’ve kinda always had a thing for short girls,” Damien sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Wait, what?”

“N-Not that I like you _just_ because you’re short! I mean… I’m also into the goody two-shoes overachiever type. Hell, that short Coven girl and I had a thing.”

“Hope?”

“Hope for what?”

“No… that’s her name.”

“Eh, never bothered to really learn their names…” Damien added. “Anyway… I’ve been into _you_ for a while, I guess. When I found out about Liam and Miri, I’ll admit that I was a little glad. But… seeing you so down wasn’t what I was looking forward to. In fact, I was so pissed for what he did!”

“So I’ve heard…” Vicky chuckled.

“But… yeah. I’ve liked you for a while. Like, maybe since you and him became a thing?” He said. “So I was kinda… jealous of him.”

“Were you now?” Vicky asked with a smirk. Damien just growled, but still had a smile on his face. “Look, when we go to prom, can you do… _less_ punching?”

“Prom?”

“Yeah.”

“… can I at least _drink_ punch?”

“Of course, you big red dummy…” Vicky laughed, hugging him gently. “That is… if you want us to go to Prom together.”

“Of course I wanna go, babe!” Damien shouted, picking her up and swinging her around for a second before setting her back down. “Gah! Yeah…! Nerd got a good shot in the ribs…!”

“Take it easy!” Vicky warned, helping him sit back down. “Look, how about we get some ice cream?”

“Sounds about right,” Damien chuckled.

Damien was prepared to carry Vicky out of the room, bridal-carry style, but the broken ribs deterred him from that. Instead, he opted to hold Vicky’s hand the whole way. She gladly accepted with a kiss as they made their way to the Ice Cream Wizard together… Much like their first date, just as sweet.

Elsewhere, Amira and Brian found themselves outside in silence. They’re grateful that their two best friends were able to tie up their loose ends, but there was still something between _them_ … or rather some _one_.

“Hey…” Amira began. “Is Scott okay?”

“Hmm?”

“You know, big lovable doofus?”

“Well… yeah. He’s fine,” Brian answered.

“You taking good care of him?”

“I mean… of course I am. I could see why you like him so much!”

“Really now?”

“Yeah. A bit too energetic for my taste, but he’s still got a good heart,” Brian said. “Good listener, great hugger, all that.”

“I didn’t hurt him too much, did I?” Amira asked.

“Well, why don’t you ask him?” Brian suggested.

“I guess I never really thought about it,” Amira admitted. “But hey, Vera and I are gonna go minigolfing. Wanna join us and make it a double date?”

“Eh, maybe you could try to make things right with him then,” Brian offered with a shrug.

“Well, our date is actually in a few minutes. So…”

“I’ll grab Scott,” Brian droned as he left to go fetch his boyfriend. Amira just texted Vera before heading towards the front of the school. There she saw her certain gorgon girlfriend was waiting for her in her car.

“So?” Vera asked. “Are they coming?”

“They will, just hold on,” Amira answered. “Brian’s… been really good to him.”

“I could tell. Scott’s a happy person mostly, but he’s… _really_ happy around Brian.”

It wasn’t long until Vera’s car rocked as the werewolf squeezed into her back seat, cheering as Brian joined him.

“So, we’re all ready to go?” Vera asked. All nodded as Vera headed off, Amira looking behind her to see Scott’s head out the window, tongue and fur flapping in the wind. Brian was asleep, arms around the werewolf. They sure were happy together, weren’t they?

Upon parking, Amira decided that she and Scott needed to talk. While Brian and Vera were registering for their match, Amira sat with Scott on the bench near the course.

“Are you okay…?” Amira asked.

“Never been better!” Scott answered with a hearty laugh.

“So after we… broke up… you’ve been fine?”

“Well, I was a little sad, because I really liked you! But then again, you like girls. And I’m okay with that.”

“Well, I wasn’t just gonna lead you on like that. You deserve better.”

“And then I realized that as much as I like girls, I might like guys too,” Scott said in realization. “In fact… maybe it doesn’t even matter whether I’m into guys, or girls, or both. Love is love, right?” he asked.

“Of course, it is, Scott,” Amira answered. “Of course it is…” The pair shared a hug as their dates approached them, putters and golf balls in hand. Yeah… they were gonna be okay.


	9. Epilogue

So… that was it.

Zoe was finished playing matchmaker. No more shipping classmates. No more fabricating romances that weren’t there… even if she was right and they were actually there all along. She took one last look at the shipping chart she spent so long creating.

So many hours spent comparing love lives of what may or may not be. This chart, this  _ massive _ chart, was the reason Zoe did what she did, but now all it was good for was reminding her of the trouble she caused.

Standing in front of her locker, she held the lighter in her tentacle. It would pain her to destroy her greatest creation, but it needed to be destroyed.

“Friend Zoe?” A metallic, compressed voice sounded behind her.

“C-calculester!” She stammered. “I-I didn’t see you there!”

“Observation: You are in possession of a miniature combustion device. Did Damien supply you with it?”

“N-no…”

“If you are planning to commit arson, Friend Zoe, I would advise against it, on the grounds that it is not nice.”

Zoe sighed. She pocketed the lighter, and pulled the chart from her locker before folding it to a much more reasonable size. “Calc, could you do me a favor real quick?”

“I am capable of accomplishing most assigned tasks, Friend Zoe,” Calculester answered, his monitor displaying his simple smiling emoticon. “What is your inquiry?”

“I need you to get rid of this,” She said, folding the chart up and handing it to him. “Any way you can… I don’t care how.”

“Predicted probability of task completion: 99%,” the android replied. “Processing…”

Calculester simply flipped his display open, revealing a paper shredder on the other side of his screen. He fed the paper into the shredder, and Zoe watched as small scraps of paper fell out from his face.

“ _ Munch munch munch munch munch munch _ —” Calculester droned as his shredder-head vibrated violently, tearing Zoe’s chart to confetti. “*Ding!* Process complete. Document shredicated.”

“Thanks, Calc…” Zoe sighed. “That’s a huge weight off my shoulders.”

Calculester flipped his monitor back into place. “Analyzing… Friend Zoe’s mass has not been altered. Incon— Ah. I see. You were using, ‘figurative speech.’”

“Yeah… I was,” Zoe answered, still feeling down in the dumps.

“Further analysis reveals Friend Zoe’s serotonin levels are in imbalance. Is something the matter?”

“I guess you could say that,” Zoe sighed. “Hey, Calc… do you ever feel...  _ guilty _ , as a robot?”

“Statement:  _ Guilty _ implies that I have done something objectively wrong to my friends. Searching memory banks… search results: Zero.”

Okay… maybe that wasn’t the right thing to ask. “O-okay then… let’s say, hypothetically.”

“Ah, a hypothesis,” Calculester hummed. “I am good at those. Beginning simulation.”

“So… let’s say, again,  _ hypothetically _ , you decide to help your friends… you think that’s what you’re doing and then they tell you that you did the exact opposite. You meant well, but look at what well meant did: you hurt them  _ terribly _ and you don’t know how you could make it up to them…”

“Processing… Processing…” Calculester answered. “Yes. That would not be a nice thing to do, therefore, I would feel, ‘guilty,’ committing such an action, even if what I did was, ‘nice,’ in theory. Hypothesis complete.”

“Well… that’s how I feel,” Zoe stated, climbing up and sitting in her locker.

“Friend Zoe… are you experiencing the feeling of guilt?”

“… Yes.”

Calculester gave a sad-sounding beep, his monitor displaying a matching frowning emoticon. “Are you in need of friendship-support protocol?”

Zoe just nodded, and Calculester wrapped his stiff metal arms around her. It was clear he hadn’t fully grasped the concept of a hug, but it was good enough. “Protocol engaged.”

It was a little uncomfortable, but Zoe got used to it. Calculester wasn’t as cold as Zoe expected… maybe it was his processor keeping them warm. As Calculester just stood, hugging Zoe, she returned the favor, giving a deep breath and hugging him in return.

“Registering hug… 9.6 on the Hug-ter scale,” Calculester hummed.

Zoe knew this hug was only going to make her feel a  _ little _ better. But forgiveness wasn’t going to come as quickly as she hoped. Everyone needed time to heal… even her.

“So… Prom’s coming up. Heh… spent so much time setting everyone else up, I forgot to get myself a date.”

“Is that what you desire for, friend Zoe?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I deserve it. I’ll probably just go alone then… Nobody’d want to hang with me anyway after what I’ve done.”

“If that will satisfy you, then I support your decision,” Calculester answered. “However, my memory bank serves that there are classmates who have done less nice things. And yet they are not alone at Prom.”

“What are you saying?”

“Perhaps I shall accompany you, friend Zoe? That way you do not have to be alone.”

Zoe just looked up at him. He was just as foreign as she was at this school, both having been enrolled here through less than conventional/orthodox means. Sure, he was always busy trying to live life to the fullest and she was always busy shipping everyone and everything under the sun… but they understood each other more than anyone. Sure, she might not be romantically invested in him and vice versa, but friends can go to prom together and still be just friends, right?

“You’d really do that?” she asked.

“I would, indeed,” Calculester answered. “Prom night would be a good opportunity to experience, ‘joy,’ with you, dearest friend Zoe.”

That certainly brought a smile to her face. Hopping out of the locker, she landed next to him, taking him by the arm.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

The two made their way to their next class together, but Calculester mentioning, “joy,” inspired a query in Zoe’s head… what  _ did _ she and the others end up doing with the book?

The Coven had surrounded themselves around the Notebook of Fates, placing it in a pewter cauldron-box, cushioned by slightly singed sage leaves and surrounded by a circle of arcane runes. They might not be able to destroy the book, but this was their best bet of making sure no one else got their hands on it.

Joy nodded to her allies, as Hope and Faith stepped forward. They began to cast a spell, their fingers weaving green, blue, and pink energy out from the aether. The energy coalesced into hundreds of strands of thread, all of which wrapped themselves tightly around the box. The only thing that was able to escape was the smell of the burnt sage.

With some lightning forming around and attacking the box, the energy threads became a deep shade of purple before it glowed, nearly blinding all three Coven sisters. When they opened their eyes, they saw that all that remained of their sealing spell were the runes and the box. Upon opening it, Joy discovered that the book had gone. Hopefully, the sealing spell had worked, and it was now someplace no one would  _ ever _ find it.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about that book again,” Joy solemnly said, earning a nod from both Hope and Faith.

“The last thing we need is another incident like what we had just experienced,” Faith added.

“So… now what?” Hope asked as the three started walking away from the ritual site, disappearing seemingly on its own, all three feeling relief that the Notebook of the Fates was no longer at risk of being used for one’s own gain… right?

The notebook itself landed on cold, dry ground… certainly far, far away from Spooky High, perhaps far away from the Monster Realm. Wind buffeted the pages, threatening to tear the paper from its bindings The pages themselves were now all blank, the cover having changed to suit its new setting. It now had the appearance of a regular composition notebook.

A gloved hand slowly picked the notebook up. “What’s this?” The stranger mused, flipping through its contents before gazing upon the title on the cover. “The Notebook of the Fates? Interesting…  _ very _ interesting, indeed…!”

Oh great… and here I thought my job was over… but it is. Since the story’s over. I am  _ not _ going through that bullshit again with the next person who decides to alter reality with fanfiction! No sequels for this Narrator! I’m done! Go home!


End file.
